Des Hudson emailed from Fairfield

(that's Fairfield, Connecticut, not Fairfield, Sydney)

He emailed these photos:

 

In Bechtel's Loloho office filling in time between tea breaks

Driving under the influence of COKE and without a licence

At the Goroka Show in 1972

At the Mount Hagen Show in 1973

After he had smashed that one up ...

... he went back to driving a more conventional model - note his safety boots, though

Pacing out the Arawa court to ensure it has the correct dimensions
with his partner who's just had brain surgery and is still wearing bandages

 

He started with Bechtel in 1970 and then took over my job at Camp Catering Services - which became S.H.R.M. - in late 1972 and stayed until 1976. His reasons for staying that long were the low court fees at the Arawa Tennis Club and the free Arnott's Scotch Finger bikkies.

During a trip to the Mt Hagen Show he became interested in girls but first had to get chummy with the in-laws ...

 

 

... who covered him in pig's fat, put some feathers on his head, and gave him this choice of two:

 

Des Hudson (centre) after the initiation ceremony

 

You may have noticed that in the first photo he wears a goldwatch whereas in the second photo he is bare-armed (as well as -arsed).

It's known as the bride price which was negotiated on the basis of 'get one for the price of two and get the second one for free'.

He was able to keep the price down (his watch was a cheap SEIKO) by doing a trade-in - see below:

Nancy Williams from Canada

 

P.S. After leaving Bougainville, Des got himself a plastic spade and bucket and for the next eleven years worked in the world's largest sandbox, Saudi Arabia, (where we met again in 1982) before being transferred to the company's office in New York where he stayed for the next 28 years until his retirement in late 2015. He now lives in Fairfield in Connecticut, practising his American accent and playing granddad to a string of doting (and praying) grandchildren.